[Completed Event] RM/MND/KPR vs SCRA : Infrastructure raiders - Omega-7

[Barrier]

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The purpose of an escort task force is to ensure the smooth flow of goods between two points in space. Any savvy commander therefore has a dilemma: concentrate the forces near the biggest danger zones, or spread them out in clusters to respond to any threat along the route. While the latter is effective against general harassment by pirates and privateers alike, it does not do as well against a concentrated assault. With the fortification efforts nearing their end with no major incidents, it is also possible that what started out as a nerve wracking assignment became yet another set of mind-numbing routine. But the Walker Cloud is ever unforgiving to the unwary…

By the time Flottenkapitän von Mayer realized the assault was not directed at Elbe, the Coalition battle group already made their way past the hazardous explosive gas pockets, which may have been used as a barrier in a defensive engagement. The order was given to assault the enemy before they had a chance to bombard Briesen, though half of the escorting force was still on its way. These vessels were additionally delayed by a singularly bold smuggler, but managed to make it to the battlespace mere minutes before the engagement.

Due to the Walker cloud making reading unreliable, von Mayer ordered his force to close in with the enemy and examine their dispositions. The original plan of using the Greifenstein as a bulwark was not tenable, as long-range artillery was not as effective in such a low-visibility environment. After this, accounts become unclear about the precise order of the engagement. It is known that a pair of coalition destroyers, the Severomorsk and the Vltava, immediately paired up and pursued the single gunship on the Rheinwehr side (KKS-Sprotte), shortly overwhelming it with their combined firepower.

Meanwhile, the battle group’s flagship was taking a pounding from the combined fire of the Greifenstein, the Folkvangr, and Bootsmann’s Beist’s torpedoes. However, Coalition engineers have ever designed their vessels to withstand punishment. After the Sprotte was put out of action, the destroyer pair moved to engage the Folkvangr. In the confusion of the Walker cloud, the Folkvangr’s evasive manoeuvres put the vessel into effective firing range of the Su-Uchkan, to the great satisfaction of Marshal Akimnov. With a three-way crossfire, the Folkvangr was soon disabled, though at the cost of major damage to the Vltava. Without its shielding vessels, the Greifenstein began its retreat under fire back to Elbe, sustaining substantial damage.

The situation at the level of snubcraft was more favorable for the Rheinwehr. Bootsmann’s Beist’s bomber was continually hounded by two fighters, with the last engaging Flieger Voigt and Herr Waffler in turn to keep them from effectively combining their fire. After Beist was forced to eject, the coalition fighters found themselves facing even odds with the almost simultaneous ejection of Shulyak, courtesy of Waffler. However, the continual harassment by Voigt and Waffler has drained them of much needed resources. While the pair managed to disable Voigt’s ship, Waffler returned the favor and sent them scrambling for the escape pods in turn.

Without fighter support and with two ships sustaining damage, Field Marshal Akimnov gave the order to bombard the Brisen facility, and then sent his flagship limping back to Omega-48. The detached destroyer pair had time to make a fly-by of Elbich, but only managed to cause minimal damage without prior structural integrity scans of the installation. The destroyers then returned to Omega-48, with Waffler keeping a watchful eye on their egress, before allowing himself to return to Elbe.

The raid was certainly a success for the Coalition, and mere days after the event the shifting of deployments closed the window for an attack of that scale. The event has also caused concern about the Rheinwehr’s fleet tactics within low-visibility environments. While all agree that Flottenkapitän von Mayer performed admirably under conditions of incomplete information, new simulator scenarios are already being developed based on combat data from what is being dubbed as the “knife fight” in Omega 7.